In January 2014 it was announced that American Pacific had agreed to be acquired by HIG Capital. American Pacific Corporation (APC) operates as a specialty chemical company that produces products used primarily in space flight and defense systems, automotive airbag safety systems, fire extinguishment systems, and energetic materials principally in the United States. The companys products include Grade I ammonium perchlorate for the aerospace and national defense industries; sodium azide, the primary component of a gas generator used in certain automotive airbag safety systems; and Halotron, a chemical used in fire extinguishing systems, such as portable fire extinguishers and airport firefighting vehicles. The company also offers propellant grade ammonium perchlorate (Grade I AP), which is used in the space shuttle, the Minuteman missile, the Delta and Atlas families of commercial space launch vehicles, and various defense-related missiles and rockets, as well as other solid fuel rocket motors. Grade I AP customers include contractors of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense and certain commercial space launch vehicle programs used to launch satellites for communication, navigation, intelligence gathering, space exploration, weather forecasting, and environmental monitoring. In addition, APC provides water treatment equipment, which is used to disinfect effluents from sewage treatment and industrial facilities, and for the treatment of seawater, as well as packaged explosive products. Further, the company involves in real estate activities.